The present invention also relates to a novel feed composition for animals, especially poultry, comprising as active ingredient an organic acid, preferably benzoic acid, derivatives or metabolites thereof, in combination with at least one essential oil compound, preferably with a mixture of at least two essential oil compounds selected from the group consisting of thymol, eugenol and piperine.
More particularly, this invention relates to the use of a composition as defined above as a component of animal feed or drinking water or feed or drinking water additives, as well as to compositions, feed additives, drinking water and feed containing them.
Benzoic acid is commercially available (for example as VevoVitall®, supplied by DSM Nutritional Products, Kaiseraugst, Switzerland) or can easily be prepared by a skilled person using processes and methods well-known in the prior art.
The essential oil compounds according to the invention are commercially available or can easily be prepared by a skilled person using processes and methods well-known in the prior art.
The essential oil compounds can be used in highly purified forms in mixtures or in the form of natural available plant extracts or extract-mixtures.
The term “extract” as used herein includes compositions obtained by solvent extraction (which are also known as “extracted oils”), steam distillation (which are also known as “essential oils”) or other methods known to the skilled person. Suitable extraction solvents include alcohols such as ethanol.
By the expression “natural” is in this context understood a substance which consists of compounds occurring in nature and obtained from natural products or through synthesis. The natural substance may preferably contain at least two of the compounds as defined above as main ingredient and additionally other essential oil compounds as for example capsaicin, tannin or carvacrol.
The term feed or feed composition means any compound, preparation, mixture, or composition suitable for, or intended for intake by an animal.
The term animal includes all animals including human. Examples of animals are non-ruminants, and ruminants. Ruminant animals include, for example, animals such as sheep, goat, and cattle, e.g. cow such as beef cattle and dairy cows. In a particular embodiment, the animal is a non-ruminant animal. Non-ruminant animals include horses, rabbits; pig or swine (including, but not limited to, piglets, growing pigs, and sows) and poultry such as turkeys, ducks and chickens (including but not limited to broiler chicks, layers).
It is known from EP-A-0 683 985 that animal feed compositions comprising benzoic acid or salts thereof can be used to minimize the emission of odoriferous ammonia from organic wastes in pig farms, especially animal excrements and manure. It is further known that addition of benzoic acid to the diet of weaner piglets improves the zootechnical performance of the animals.
The disadvantage of the use of benzoic acid in animal feeding is, that benzoic acid cannot be used in dosages >10000 mg/kg pig feed and in dosages >5000 mg/kg poultry feed because of undesired adverse effects.
It has now been found surprisingly that the dosage ranges of benzoic acid and salts thereof in the final animal feed can be reduced without losing effectiveness when it is combined with a mixture of active compounds as defined above.